NFL targeting Brazil for a 2024 International Series game

The NFL is targeting Brazil for a 2024 International Series game. Which stadium could play host? Would you want the Saints to make the trip?

Now this is interesting. Multiple reports from NFL ownership meetings in Dallas say the league’s decision-makers will be voting on a potential 2024 regular season game to be played in Brazil, with a verdict coming as soon as Wednesday afternoon.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has made the league’s International Series a point of emphasis on his annual agenda — we may never see a Super Bowl played overseas or have an NFL team headquartered outside America, but Goodell clearly sees room for expansion in international markets. After kicking off games in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Mexico, he’s looking to Brazil as the next hotspot in 2024 (plus Spain in 2025, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports).

So where could that game be played? Venues used for recent international NFL games include London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (seating over 60,000) and Wembley Stadium (seating more than 85,000), Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca (capacity for 78,000 seats) as well as Germany’s stadiums in Munich (the 69,000-seat Allianz Arena) and Frankfurt (Deutsche Bank Park, seating about 51,000).

That’s an average capacity of about 68,600 seats. If that’s in the ballpark of what the NFL is looking for in a venue, São Paulo has one clear option: the Estadio do Morumbi (which opened in 1960, easily seating 66,000). The city is also home to the Arena Corinthians (opened in 2014, seating 49,000) and Estádio Prudentão (built in 1982, seating 45,000) as alternative sites.

Now, what you’re really here for: could the Saints be involved? The answer to that is a soft “maybe.” New Orleans will not lose another home game to an international game in 2024 after doing so in 2022’s matchup with the Minnesota Vikings in London. NFL ownership previously agreed that every team would play a “home” game overseas once every eight years, but they’re voting soon on whether to shorten that to a four-year gap, so the Saints could make the trip as visitors.

An NFC team is expected to host the game in Brazil (if approved by league ownership), per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, and the Saints have away games scheduled in 2024 with the following opponents in their conference:

  • Atlanta Falcons
  • Carolina Panthers
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Dallas Cowboys
  • New York Giants
  • Same-place NFC North team (right now, the Green Bay Packers)

We can rule out the Packers, Falcons, and Buccaneers because they have “hosted” international games in recent years, leaving the Panthers, Cowboys, and Giants as options to host. We should acknowledge the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Chicago Bears are eligible to host the game in Brazil if the Saints end up playing a difference NFC North team in 2024, depending on how the final divisional standings shake out.

But there’s another factor to consider: the NFL’s international marketing rights for Brazil have been awarded to just one team, the Miami Dolphins. It’s likely they would want the Dolphins to be involved because of that (or at least, the Dolphins would want to be involved), even if they’re playing as visitors. Miami has made a number of overseas appearances including a game in Frankfurt this year. They’re a likelier fit than the Saints.

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Where the Saints stand in the NFL playoff picture after Week 14

The Saints end their three game losing streak but still sit on the outside looking in of the NFC playoff picture.

The New Orleans Saints still sit outside of the NFC playoff picture. The Saints were able to end their three game losing streak in an unimpressive victory over the Carolina Panthers. They are now tied with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South, but they fall third in the three-way tiebreaker.

Here is the NFC playoff picture after Week 14 and where the Saints stand after the week of action:

RB Aaron Jones, LB Quay Walker both inactive for Packers vs. Giants

Four starters for the Packers on Monday night against the Giants.

Four starters highlight the Green Bay Packers’ inactive list for Week 14 vs. the New York Giants.

Receiver Christian Watson (hamstring) was ruled out on Saturday, cornerback Jaire Alexander (shoulder) was downgraded to out on Sunday, and now running back Aaron Jones (knee) and linebacker Quay Walker (shoulder) are both inactive for Monday night at MetLife Stadium.

Here’s the inactive list for the Packers:

LB Quay Walker
WR Christian Watson
CB Jaire Alexander
CB Kyu Blu Kelly
RB Aaron Jones
T Caleb Jones

The two other inactive players — Kelly and Jones — are healthy scratches.

The Packers do have safety Darnell Savage, who was questionable to play with a chest injury. He is active and should start next to Jonathan Owens or Rudy Ford.

Expect rookies Dontayvion Wicks and Malik Heath to get more snaps at wide receiver with Watson out. Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs will be the top two receivers.

Carrington Valentine and Corey Ballentine will start at cornerback with Keisean Nixon in the nickel.

Isaiah McDuffie will start at linebacker for Walker and be vital in the defense’s containment of Saquon Barkley.

A.J. Dillon will be the lead running back with Patrick Taylor and Kenyan Drake behind him. Dillon could get 20 or more touches.

For the Giants, defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence and linebacker Isaiah Simmons are both active despite being listed as questionable. Receiver Parris Campbell is inactive.

Packers elevate RB Kenyan Drake from practice squad for Week 14 vs. Giants

The Packers elevated RB Kenyan Drake from the practice squad to the gameday roster for Week 14 vs. the Giants.

The Green Bay Packers elevated running back Kenyan Drake from the practice squad to the gameday roster for Week 14. The move was announced Monday, making Drake available for Matt LaFleur and the Packers for Monday night’s showdown with the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.

Drake, who signed in Green Bay on Dec. 5, will give the Packers a veteran option at running back behind A.J. Dillon and Patrick Taylor. The elevation is an obvious response to the availability of Aaron Jones, who is not expected to play for a third consecutive game due to a knee injury.

Drake, now in his eighth NFL season, has experience as a runner, pass-catcher and kick returner. His presence may allow the Packers to use Taylor on more special teams units.

Earlier this week, coach Matt LaFleur said Drake had done a “nice job” absorbing the offense and handling his duties in walk-through portions of practice.

Drake played in two games with the Baltimore Ravens this season, rushing once for no gain and catching two passes for 31 yards. Between 2020 and 2022, Drake produced 2,208 yards and 18 total touchdowns across 39 games with three different teams.

All teams are allowed to elevate up to two players from the practice squad each week. An individual player can only be elevated from the practice squad three times per season, so Drake has two elevations remaining. On Tuesday, Drake will revert back to the practice squad.

Elevations by week

Week 1: RB Patrick Taylor, DB Innis Gaines
Week 2: RB Patrick Taylor, DB Innis Gaines
Week 3: RB Patrick Taylor, CB Corey Ballentine
Week 4: CB Corey Ballentine, CB Kiondre Thomas
Week 5: CB Corey Ballentine
Week 7: None
Week 8: None
Week 9: DB Innis Gaines
Week 10: None
Week 11: S Benny Sapp III
Week 12: S Benny Sapp III, FB Henry Pearson
Week 13: RB James Robinson, FB Henry Pearson
Week 14: RB Kenyan Drake

Packers downgrade CB Jaire Alexander to OUT vs. Giants

There will be no guessing game before the inactive list comes out on Monday night: the Green Bay Packers downgraded cornerback Jaire Alexander from questionable to out for Week 14 vs. the New York Giants. 

There will be no guessing game before the inactive list comes out on Monday night: the Green Bay Packers downgraded cornerback Jaire Alexander from questionable to out for Week 14 vs. the New York Giants.

Alexander will miss his fifth consecutive game after injuring his shoulder during a win over the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 5. He had been listed as questionable in four consecutive weeks before his status was changed to out on Sunday.

Alexander, a two-time All-Pro, has played in only five games this season: Week 1 at Chicago, Week 2 at Atlanta, Week 5 at Las Vegas, Week 8 vs. Minnesota and Week 9 vs. Los Angeles. He played 332 defensive snaps, or 95 percent of the defense’s snaps, over the five games.

Alexander has four pass breakups and a tackle for loss in 2023.

The Packers will be expected to start rookie Carrington Valentine and Corey Ballentine on the perimeter at cornerback with Keisean Nixon in the slot against the Giants.

Alexander joins receiver Christian Watson as the two players ruled out for the Packers. Linebacker Quay Walker is doubtful to play, and three others are questionable.

Report: Second opinion found serious thigh injury for Rashid Shaheed

NOF reports a second opinion found Rashid Shaheed’s thigh injury is more serious than first expected. He’ll be unavailable against the Panthers:

The injury bug is biting the New Orleans Saints at the worst time. They enjoyed the strongest team health in the NFL for the first three months of the season but didn’t take advantage of it, going into the Week 11 bye without a winning record — and now they’re getting banged up after slipping to third-place in the NFC South.

Rashid Shaheed is the latest Saints standout to land on the injury report. Initially listed as questionable for Sunday’s game with the Carolina Panthers, Shaheed isn’t expected to play. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that a second opinion found his thigh contusion injury (suffered two weeks ago against the Atlanta Falcons) was more serious than first believed.

So when will he return? It’s possible Shaheed could play next week against the New York Giants, but he might need more time to heal up. And the clock isn’t on his side. There are just four weeks left in the regular season after this Panthers game and the Saints are far from a lock to reach the playoffs and buy him more time.

With injuries and absences stacking up at receiver — Michael Thomas is on injured reserve with a knee injury, Chris Olave has missed two days of practice with the flu — the pressure is building on a position group that was supposed to carry the offense.

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Packers must protect ball against takeaway-fueled Giants

The Packers must take care of the ball against a team that has scored almost all its points off turnovers in the last two games.

The New York Giants scored 41 points across back-to-back wins over the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots before the bye week. Of the 41 points, 34 came directly off of takeaways.  Fr

The Green Bay Packers must play clean and protect the ball on offense to beat the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Monday night.

Third-string rookie Tommy DeVito will start at quarterback for the Giants. It’s possible the best way for the Packers to keep DeVito and the Giants off the scoreboard is taking care of the football.

New York has nine takeaways in the last two games. The Giants turned six total takeaways into 24 points against the Commanders, including a game-sealing pick-six. In a 10-7 win over the Patriots, an interception set up both the Giants’ only touchdown and the go-ahead field goal in the second half.

“They’ve done a great job of punching at the ball, getting the ball out. You can tell that’s something that is emphasized there,” Matt LaFleur said. “They’ve made a lot of plays in the secondary, in the backend as well.”

The Giants’ only touchdown drive not involving a takeaway over the last two games was a 62-yard scoring drive that featured a 40-yard touchdown pass from DeVito to Darius Slayton vs. the Commanders.

Giants takeaways turn into points (last 2 games)

Fumble recovery: 45-yard drive for TD
Fumble recovery: 68-yard drive for TD
Interception: 46-yard drive for FG
Interception returned for TD
Interception: 26-yard drive for TD
Interception: 8-yard drive for FG

The Giants have 19 takeaways, tied for the eighth most in football this season. The defense’s 12 interceptions are tied for the sixth most, and nine different Giants players have at least one pick. They’ve also forced 11 fumbles, including four by standout linebacker Bobby Okereke.

Can Matt LaFleur’s team keep playing mistake-free football and win the ball on Monday night?

The Packers haven’t turned the ball over during the current three-game win streak and are 4-1 when they don’t have a turnover this season. Jordan Love has thrown only two interceptions in the last five games.

The Giants have won back-to-back games but remain one of the NFL’s most disappointing teams in 2023. Brian Daboll’s team ranks 31st in point differential, largely due to five losses by three or more scores. Four of the five three-score losses came in games where the Giants didn’t have a takeaway.

The blueprint for the Packers looks fairly simple vs. the Giants: protect the ball and force DeVito to consistently traverse long fields. New York has lived off the momentum and short fields of takeaways. It’s difficult to imagine DeVito and the Giants offense scoring enough points to beat the red-hot Packers without a handful of scores off momentum-changing turnovers on Monday night.

Packers pass-rush has opportunity to control game vs. Giants OL

Can the Packers overwhelm the Giants at the line of scrimmage on defense?

The Green Bay Packers pass-rush has been building steam in recent weeks and will have the opportunity to build upon that performance, along with leaving a big mark in team’s matchup with New York as they face a shaky Giants’ offensive line.

In recent weeks, the Packers defense would record three red zone sacks against the elusive Patrick Mahomes that kept eight points off the board. The week prior, Jared Goff was under duress on a whopping 52 percent of his dropbacks, according to PFF, with Justin Herbert facing pressure on almost 40 percent of his snaps. For some context around those percentages, the top 10 most pressured quarterbacks in football this season have all been under pressure at least 40 percent of the time.

Specifically, along the interior is where the Packers have seen the greatest pass rush presence during that span, with Kenny Clark, Karl Brooks, and Devonte Wyatt all ranking in the top 30 out of 88 eligible defensive linemen in pass-rush win rate. Clark also ranks second in total pressures.

The Packers defense has gone from ranking in the bottom third of the league in pressure rate to currently sitting at 11th overall11th overall.

“We’ve got some really good D-linemen, whether it’s RG (Rashan Gary), P (Preston Smith), Kenny Clark, I mean all those guys up front—TJ (Slaton). All those guys have done a good job. That’s a credit to Rebs (Jason Rebrovich) and J-Mo (Jerry Montgomery) and their relationship.

“I think we are much better at running line stunts than we have been maybe in the past. Those guys playing off each other, being unselfish, setting a pick for another guy, that is a real value when you can rush four, drop seven in coverage, and still get to the quarterback. Those are some of the best defenses in the league when you’re able to get pressure with a four-man rush.”

Across from the Packers front will be the Giants’ offensive line, that in pass protection, has statistically been one of the worst in football this season. New York’ has surrendered the highest quarterback pressure rate this season, and that has resulted in the most sacks allowed by 11. As a collective unit, the Giants rank 27th in ESPN’s pass-block win rate metric.

Of course, getting after the quarterback is always the name of the game, but if the Packers defensive front is able to create steady pressure on their own, it can make things particularly difficult for quarterback Tommy DeVito, with Green Bay able to drop an additional defender into coverage.

When under pressure, DeVito’s completion rate sits at only 45 percent while averaging only 4.0 yards per attempt. A league-high 52.6 percent of the pressures that DeVito faces have turned into sacks, according to PFF, and it isn’t particularly close, with second in that category being at 37 percent.

Conversely, when DeVito has had time, he’s been effective, completing 68 percent of his throws at 7.3 yards per attempt. Wide receivers Darius Slayton and WanDale Robinson have been two of DeVito’s top targets with Jalin Hyatt being a deep threat option for this passing game.

“He looks like a guy that if you give him time, he can make you pay,” said Matt LaFleur about DeVito on Thursday, “there’s no question. They’ve got some dangerous receivers with Hyatt and Slayton and guys that can take the top off obviously. I think Tommy’s done a really nice job going in there, distributing the ball, and making off schedule plays, and making some tight window throws.”

In order to have the opportunity to get after and disrupt DeVito, step one is to slow Saquon Barkley and the Giants run game. New York enters Week 14 ranked 28th in pass attempts per game. Slowing their rushing attack will put the offense in obvious passing situations, allowing the Packers defensive front to really pin its ears back and get after the passer.

When there is a steady pass rush presence, there isn’t a position group on the defense that doesn’t benefit. Pressure means less time in coverage, potential turnover opportunities, and disrupts the timing and rhythm of the offense’s play call.

“It’s a wonder opportunity,” said Kenny Clark about getting after the quarterback, “but we’ve still got to earn the right to rush the passer. Like I was saying earlier, Saquon is a great running back and they do a really good job at that. That’s the key, the stop the run first, that’s first and foremost, and then get the chance to rush the passer and we’ll get our opportunities there.”

What to know from Packers’ first injury report of Week 14 vs. Giants

The Packers listed 15 players on the first injury report of Week 14 vs. the Giants.

The Green Bay Packers released the team’s first injury report of Week 14 on Thursday. The team will release two more injury reports, including a final injury report on Saturday with official playing status designations before Monday night’s showdown with the New York Giants:

Here’s everything to know from Week 14’s first injury report:

— As was the case last week, the Packers listed 15 players on the injury report, including three players who did not participate and nine more who were limited on Thursday.

— New injuries: Christian Watson (hamstring), Elgton Jenkins (shoulder), Jonathan Owens (knee), Darnell Savage (chest), Quay Walker (shoulder) and Devonte Wyatt (elbow).

— Watson, Savage and Walker did not practice Thursday, putting all three in danger of missing the showdown with the Giants.

— The Packers removed Kenny Clark, Rudy Ford, Robert Rochell and Dontayvion Wicks from the injury report completely.

— Aaron Jones (knee) remains limited. Matt LaFleur didn’t get into his workload or potential to play vs. the Giants when asked Thursday.

— Cornerback Eric Stokes, who is still on injured reserve, practiced in full on Thursday. His return is likely coming on Monday night. The Packers must still activate him to the 53-man roster.

— The following players were limited: Jaire Alexander, De’Vondre Campbell, A.J. Dillon, Rashan Gary, Elgton Jenkins, Aaron Jones, Owens, Jayden Reed and Wyatt. The Packers were without Alexander and Jones last week.

— Tight end Josiah Deguara was a full participant. He’s missed two straight games with a hip injury but could return in New York.

— The Giants listed star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence as limited (hamstring) and starting offensive tackle Evan Neal as did not participate (ankle). Linebacker Isaiah Simmons was also limited. The Giants didn’t practice officially on Thursday so participation was an estimate. Overall, the team’s injury list is just six players long.

Predicting the Saints’ 5 remaining games and final record

Where do we go after a three-game losing skid? Predicting the New Orleans Saints’ 5 remaining games and final record:

Where do you go after a three-game losing skid? That’s the question the New Orleans Saints are asking themselves, and head coach Dennis Allen’s answer is simple: just focus on going 1-0 this week. Win Sunday’s game over the Carolina Panthers, take stock of the division title race, and keep moving.

But it’s not that simple. The Saints are rapidly losing ground in the competition for the NFC South crown, and losses to division opponents like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons.

With that in mind, here are our updated score predictions for the Saints’ five remaining games in the 2023 regular season: